SKETCHES FROM AMERICA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 85

SKETCHES FROM AMERICA.

Bt Maorilanda.

(For the Witness.) There seems to be a general lull in American affairs —a period of inaction, when strength for the coming Presidential campaign can be gathered. All have been more or less exhausted by the 6train of the financial disturbance. That i 6 now a subject of importance to writers, committeemen, and members of Congress only. The average man in the street is tired of it all, and half-ashamed to have

been in. a panic when h« looks back an<3 remembers that 6uch crises are common. Others of minor seriousness seem to have occurred every three or five years, while those that have shaken the country came in 10-year circuits. " Let us legislate against it," he say 6 irritably, feeling that by so deciding it will be " up to someone else." The revival of the Thaw case has brought a pleasant change of topic. Discussion as to whether Evelyn Thaw will testify or not is the question of the hour. It is said that if she take the stand her cross-examination will be extremely severe. Others hold that the truth or falsehood of her story has nothing to do with the case. The point at issue is the effect it had upon the mind of Harry Thaw, and whether it Tendered him insane, for insanity is to be the defence during the second trial. Thaw's lawyers insist that he was insane at the time of the murder of Stanford White and for two months afterwards. Now his mind is in perfect balance. There is a general feeling that the first trial was of ridiculous length, and a determined effort is to be made to curtail the second. Winter suffering, consequent upon wan*> of employment, has begun in earnest with the new year, though the thermometer has not yet dropped to zero, nor has there been much snow in any part of the States. Despite^ this, the refuges in. all the bigger cities are full to overflowing. In 1894»^after the last " panic," vacant buildings were opened by law in order that men might sleep under cover, otherwise they would have frozen before morning. Those engaged in charitable work are anxiou6 to avoid a repetition of the

tragic scenes of that y«aT, and a move- T ment is on foot to force the cities to provide work that will enable men to keep body and soul together -during the woist j months. In some the newspapers have taken the matter up, and are opening j temporary lodging-houses, where beds, i coffee, and rolls will be provided free. These will be partly worked by the municipal authorities, who are accustomed to managing similar institutions — those which bave proved inadequate in their accommodation. Here and there rich men have placed buildings at the service of the committee, and money is coming from various sources. When the men who had just obtained shelter in one of the free lodging-houses heard that another was being opened for their less fortunate brethren they volunteered their services in a body, and went over, tired as they were with their fruitless search for work, to scrub, clean, and put Tip the spring mattresses that were being fast delivered. Business firms are doing what they can. Some have agreed to supply free coffee, others bread ; some are undertaking to employ a stated number of men daily, whatever the need may be. Single men are to be given two nights' lodging and two days' food free, and are to be paid for two days' work. Married men will receive half as much again of all three commodities. When the need is great' an extension of time will be granted, but it is hoped that this will serve to get them on their feet again, and provide them with time and the necessary fares to 6eek out work. In Chicago the number of unem- j ployed is put at 75,000; in New York there are fully half as many more. Small wonder that ordinary machinery has proved useless, that the municipal lodginghouses and police stations can hold no more^ — that stairs, hallways, and passages have been utilised for sleeping purposes — that the " all-night " saloons have been jammed, and yet men have been compelled to walk the streets. j The " rent strike " of New York is spreading westward to other cities. Converts are being made rapidly, especially in the ghetto districts, where mass meetings of Jews are being held. Such a strike has a considerably greater chance of success in America than elsewhere, for here as many as 50 families often live under one roof, and few landlords could contemplate the absolute vacancy of such buildings without a tremor. One of the factors in the American law in favour of the tenants is the delay. At least 15 days is neoejssary to complete a legal eviction from the time the first notice is served, i Five days after the notice is delivered a court summons is sent appointing a date, five days later, for the case to be tried. Five days again must elapse between the trial and the arrival of the bailiff, wko is directed by law to "transport all the goods of the tenant into the street in a careful manner." Twenty days must then pass before the landlord can bring a suit for defaulting rent, and in this time the tenant can schedule goods for exemption. In most States 400dol worth of furniture and household goods can be placed upon thie list. Few tenement dwellers own more. The " Rent -strikers' Union" is f rowing stronger day by day, and they aye certainly made some gains, a score or so of landlords having yielded, a fact which affects many hundreds of families. The remaining landlords have formed themselves /into a " Protective Association." They are the recipients of scores of threatening letters, and a resolution hais been passed to move in absolute unison in order that it will be impossible for those evicted to be housed by sympathisers. | Another sign of the times is the increase in the number of hold-ups. A few days since a man was held up in the main street of a big city about 5 o'clock at nighty His assailants tied him to the supports of an elevated railway. Another was robbed of the money he had drawn from the bank while actually in the building, and in such a noticeable manner that the paying teller leaped his desk and joined in the pursuit. A third — the trustee of a church, who had been attending a meeting — was bereft of his overcoat while on the church steps. " Take off that coat!" were the wards that greeted him as he emerged from the porch. "Keep on walking as you take it off!" and two brawny young men stepped out beside him. By the time the corner was reached the coat was off. The robbers, after a speedy gleaning of the victim's pockets, turned one wav and the shiver- , ing trustee went the other ! ! " American endurance " is a favourite phrase here, and Americans are never < tirea of retailing amazinjr yarns in proof of it. The latest is of a hero who undertook to eat 2oz of black pepper. Soon after he began the meal he betrayed 6uch j agony that the spectators, including the , other party to the bet, urged him to give ! up. But " being game, every inch of him," the man persevered. By the time the last fraction had been demolished frienols had to carry the writhing hero home. Physicians are now in hourly at- | tendance, and his condition is extremely j critical. But his name is known from ■ pnd to end of Delaware, and individuals in distant States look" eagerly for the , latest news concerning him. I A new cure for insanity has been discovered. It is bargain-hunting. The patients of a big St. Louis asylum are being taken out on daily shopping excur- j sionsi by* non-uniformed attendants. The tests are said to show exceedingly good results. j

j — Another historic L,ondon tavern, Barnard's Inn, in Holborn. has olosed its doors. • The house was the Red Lamp of "Barnaby Rudpr« " and many mon whose names are now historic hare foregathered in the old parkmr behind the bar. J John Fioliloclc. Inglewood. Vie, writes: — ( " Last winter I contracted a very severe cold, for which I tried nearly ©very mcdi- j einp under the sun without obtaining the ] sliphre=t relk-f. A friend recommended me ( to try Oh&mV>ei-la.in.'^ Cousli 3^em-e<3-c, wliiok I did with very gratifying results, and , was soon well.' 1 For sale every where. 1